DL McDowell commits to Ole Miss for 2014

It’s not often that a recruit from the state of Louisiana decides to leave their home state to play college football when they hold an offer from the homestate LSU Tigers. However, that is exactly what defensive lineman Garrald McDowell of Covington, La., did via Twitter on Friday morning.

McDowell (6-1, 260) had narrowed his choices to Ole Miss and LSU recently, but he was hotly pursued by many SEC programs. His final four were Tennessee and Arkansas in addition to his two finalists. He’s a defensive end at the high school level but can slide inside to the tackle spot.

Rated as the 13th best strongside defensive end in the country, McDowell is set to play in the 2014 Under Armour All-American game on January 2.